Alice M. Carolan

Survivors include her husband Francis Patrick Carolan of Libby;
two sons and daughters-in-law, Larry and Donna McQueen of Kuna,
Idaho, and Robert and Debbie McQueen of Central Point, Ore.; four
daughters and their husbands, Rose and Clark Stahlberg of
Kalispell, Dorothy and Tom McCarty and Sharon and Ron Curtiss, all
of Libby, and Eileen and Elmer Amundson of Deering, N.D.; 32
grandchildren; 57 great-grandchildren; and 13
great-great-grandchildren.

Services will be 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 12, at the Nelson &
Vial Funeral Home.

Gerrit James Hamilton

LOLO - Gerrit James Hamilton, 18, died April 7, 2000, in a
bicycle accident on Highway 93. He lived most of his life in Lolo
on Mill Creek Road.

Gerrit was born in Missoula on June 14, 1981, and went to
Woodman School and Big Sky High School. He was active in sports,
lettering in soccer. He would often make two 40-mile round trips to
Missoula on his bicycle in order to participate in "two-a-day"
soccer practices.

He was a freshman at the University of Montana. Gerrit was a
passionate trainer and had no time for traditional diversions of
other teenage boys. His goals were to be the best snowboarder,
downhill mountain bike racer and off-road motorcyclist that he
could be.

In 1999 he won the Junior Expert Montana State Championship in
both the dual slalom and downhill events as well as finishing 25th
Junior Expert at the Deer Valley World Qualifiers in Utah. He
recently finished second overall at the Downhill Bicycle Snow Race
at Marshall Mountain.

As a motorcycle enduro rider, his ultimate goal was to be only
the second Montanan ever to qualify as a Team USA I.S.D.E. Rider in
the World Enduro Championships (his brother William was the first).
During the 1999 National Enduro Qualifying series, he won four gold
medals, earning the number "6" nationally in his class. No matter
how well his results were, he was always sure that could have done
better and would next time.

Gerrit lived life the same way he raced. He wasn't interested in
winning as much as doing his best. Since you can't go faster when
everyone's behind you, he would skip advancement levels and was
never intimidated when the world's best would line up next to
him.

Gerrit worked part time for Mike Tingley's Suzuki and for
Dorothy and Dennis McCrudden of Rices Inc.

The pride of his life was his 3-year-old nephew Kobe. He started
training Kobe early and had already taught him to snowboard and
"downhill" race on his tike bike. He looked forward to teaching
Kobe all the activities that he enjoyed along with his brother
Bill.

Although Gerrit has fallen short of his lofty goals, he will
always be remembered for his steadfast persistence and his
unfaltering friendship. Gerrit was the best son, brother and uncle
we could ever have.

He is survived by his parents, Larry and Cheryl Hamilton;
brother William at the family home in Lolo; sister and
brother-in-law Teralee and Nate Johnson and their son Kobe of Lolo;
grandmothers Nina Stith of West Plains, Mo., and Sue Duncan of
Wichita, Kan.; numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and friends along
with L.O.Y.D. (his "little orange and yellow dog").

The family suggests memorials in Gerrit's name to Team USA
I.S.D.E. Rider Fund, c/o American Motorcycle Association, 13515
Yarmouth Drive, Pickerington, OH 43147; or the International
Mountain Biking Association Trail Fund.

In accordance with Gerrit's wishes, cremation will occur before
the service. He didn't want to take up space that might be used for
riding. He would have preferred you remembering him as he passed
you on the worst downhill or squeezed by you in an impossible
corner.

He also wasn't much for being formal, so he will leave us
wearing his racing gear and would invite all of his friends to wear
their jerseys and maybe even taking a ride afterwards.

Memorial services will be held on Monday, April 10, at the Lolo
Community Church (located behind the Lolo Post Office) at 3 p.m.
with the family's good friend, Alan Hill of Cheney, Kan.,
officiating.

Arrangements are under the care and direction of Garden City
Funeral Home and Crematory.

Subscribe to Breaking News

* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.

Vacation photographs often capture perfect moments in favorite places. Send us your best ones by July 16 for a chance to win up to $1,000 in our Destinations Photo Contest. The top photographs submitted will also be featured in a national publication reaching more than 1 million households.